Painted Sunset, Blue Lagoon
by rosyoreo
Summary: A lighter twist on the Swan Lake formula- kind of an AU post-series. Duck is only a bird at night after sunset, and must be on the lake at sunrise if she wishes to turn into a girl. Written for #April Fool's Bodyswap!


**_What a night seems oh so scenic,_**

 ** _May be cynic much too soon_**

* * *

Duck, the sun, and the moon had an agreement. If Duck spent her nights in Gold Crown Town as a bird, she could live her life as a girl during the day. The one condition was she had to be on the lake at sunrise, or she would spend her day as a duck.

Duck's only regret was that she would never be able to dance a moonlight pas de deux with her knight. He would never be able to twirl her in his arms under the twinkling stars as a girl. But they were content. They had their sunrises, they went out together, to school, the shops, they visited friends, had picnics, told stories, laughed, explored the uncharted places on his maps from the library.

Nights after sunset were always peaceful. Dinner was quiet. Fakir filled the cottage with his own thoughts and ramblings when he felt it necessary, but they mostly lived in steady silence. The two of them might go to town, partake in nighttime festivities. Fakir usually wrote late by the cracklings of their little fireplace, staining his hands with ink and stroking her downy head as she lay beside him. Later she would give a light "quack" in protest as he gently pried her up from her place on the couch, but any feelings of contention would be soon forgotten when she curled up next to him on his warm pillow under a small bird-sized blanket she had sewn.

Fakir wasn't thrilled about the idea of her sleeping with him at first, but quickly discovered he didn't mind as much as he initially thought. She helped ease his troubled mind with her calming demeanor, and on the nights when he woke up from terrors and what ifs and fears he'd never talk about, that's when he needed her most. Just being there for each other. That was enough for them.

Every morning they'd wake before the sun, go for a walk wherever they felt like, sometimes bringing alone Duck's favorite bakery break from the night before, and always end at the lake to watch the sunrise before breakfast. (He made sure to always put extra clothes for her in his satchel.)

She loved being able to express her thoughts and feeling much more easily to Fakir that she could as a duck. Birds can't emote incredibly well, and while she could certainly show more emotion that normal ducks, sometimes she just has so much to say that facial expressions aren't enough. (She always was a chatterbox, he thought.)

She continues to love dance and practice on a daily basis. Her movements become more defined and intentions more precise with each step, and she somehow always manages to retain that little piece of uniqueness that continue to make her dancing stand out from her classmates. While she attends ballet, Fakir spends his time working at the library, drowning himself in stories during any downtime he can get. Invested in characters he would never meet and cities and worlds he would never visit. If there was time after school she would demonstrate to him what she learned in class that day, which might lead to a rather clumsy pas de deux and end with their laughter lighting up the night before she became a bird for the evening.

Tonight though, after Fakir returned home to their lakeside cottage, he couldn't find Duck. _Maybe she went to the market before dinner,_ he thought. But as he hung up his coat and looked out the front window, he noticed it. A small orange head of hair, unfastened from its usual braid. The girl attached was sitting barefoot on the dock by the lake.

Fakir grabbed a small quilt and hurried outside to greet her. He approached slowly, but if she noticed his presence she didn't acknowledge him. It wasn't until he wrapped the little quilt gently over her shoulders that she spoke. "Thank you.."

Her voice was hollow, like she was lost in thought. Fakir grinned. "May I join you?"

Duck nodded slowly, never taking her eyes off the water. Fakir quietly sat beside her, letting his feet hang above the lake the way she did. It was moments before he spoke again. "Everything okay?"

The girl sighed, and only considered lying for a split second before she looked at him with heavy tired eyes. "I don't know." Fakir nodded, patiently waited for her to continue. "It's just a lot, I guess..." She chuckled, but there was no humor behind it. "Which is so dumb, because my life is so simple and so wonderful, _you're_ so wonderful, I get to be here, as a girl, with you and everyone and dance, but I don't know Fakir. I just don't feel... like I deserve any of it."

Well, _that's_ not what he expected her to say. His eyes widened as he tried to suppress the surprise and confusion from his voice. "What on earth makes you think that?"

Duck was quick to respond with her own surprised tone. "What makes you think I do?! There were so many times when Mytho was here, when I was Tutu, that I wanted to just give up! _So many times!_ And when it was most important, when Mytho and Rue and everyone in town needed Tutu most of all…"

She trailed off, her voice shaking as tears threatened to spill over. "I was weak. Drosselmeyer tricked me, I know that, and I really _really_ hate him for hurting you and making you write that story about me, but... I don't want to lie to you and say those weren't my true feelings." Duck looked away- she couldn't bring herself to face him, but she couldn't _stop talking_. "Because I'm coward, and I was terrified of messing up, and even though it all turned out okay I'm... I'm so _angry_ at myself. I hate that I wasn't strong enough, I hate that you got hurt b-because of me, I hate that I failed, a-and.."

She curled in on herself and crossed her arms over her chest, wanting to vanish in that very moment as streams rolled down her freckles cheeks. "I hate that I really do feel like a weak, ugly little duckling."

That was far enough. With his face scowled in anger (not at her, _never_ at her, only that she felt this way because how could she so easily disregard all the good she did and how _incredible she was_ ,) he stood up on the dock and took her hands in his to pull her up with him, the small quilt still resting on her petit shoulders. "Duck..."

There was so much Fakir wanted to say, so much she needed to hear, but words failed him at that moment as he just stood there, holding her tiny hands in his. Duck kept her eyes down as she shook her head and responded dryly.

"Even as I was back then, Dancing like that.. With you supporting me, it made me forget that I'm just a duck." Her smile was bittersweet. "In that one moment, I didn't feel so ugly... I felt like I could do anything. I felt like a beautiful swan. And... I'm just sad that I'll never _be_ that." The next part was said so quietly Fakir had to strain to hear it. "I wish I could b-be _more_ for you, i-is all..." A sob escaped her throat before she could stop it and she tried to muffle her cries behind her trembling hands.

Fakir's heart ached in his chest as he embraced her tightly. He wanted to take a sword and kill all the self doubt she was feeling. "No, no, no..." He rocked back and forth with her small frame in his arms and patted her head, refusing to let go. The writer spoke slowly, making sure she heard every syllable. "You came close, but you did. Not. Fail. Everyone needs a pull in the right direction sometimes, Duck. Never, ever think for a single second that just because you needed help, that that makes you weak." She glanced up at him through her hiccups, absorbing his words, which came easily now.

"You've overcome so much... You're so brave and strong. You are not weak, and you're _not_ a coward."

She clung to his shirt and buried herself into his chest, letting him hold her close with his cheek resting gentle on her head, running his hands through her long unbraided her and wiping away her flow of tears.

The two stayed intertwined for what felt like hours, swaying in silence as the sun began to set in the distance. When the last bit of light was gone from the sky, the spell broke. Little Duck was a bird once again, clothes discarded and all but forgotten on the dock, being cradled in Fakirs strong arms as he sat, his feet dangling near the edge of their lake. She fluffed her wings and gave an uneasy sigh, wishing she could have stayed a girl just a little bit longer so as not to ruin their moment. Fakir tilted her head upward and spoke so softly it was nearly inaudible, but she clung to everything he said.

"Just because you're not a swan, that doesn't mean you're not a beautiful Duck." He guided her forehead to his, making a promise. "Despite everything you went through, all the pain you suffered alone, you always managed to keep smiling. And now, on the days when you can't, I'll do my best to smile for both of us."

He chuckled quietly and nuzzled close to her. "You've already done so much for me, at least let me do this for you." And even under the soft glow of moonlight, it's hard to miss her silent mime meant only for him and the tears sparkling in her grateful eyes.

* * *

 **A/N:** There's like five different tenses and writing styles in this thing I'm sO sorry. The idea hit sometime in December, and I only recently returned to it to post it for **#April Fool's Bodyswap** over on tumblr! I realize it's probably waaay ooc, just wanted to write something sweet ^^ Review and grammar nuts appreciated!


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